Every Day Is Special: March 17 - Evacuation Day in Boston

March 17 - Evacuation Day in Boston

Posted on March 17, 2018

Today's holiday celebrates the day in 1776 when the British "Redcoats" left (or evacuated) the city of Boston, during the Revolutionary War.

It's a happy coincidence that today is also St. Patrick's Day - because many folks living in Boston (and other places in Suffolk County, which also celebrate Evacuation Day) have Irish ancestors - and St. Patty's is the day when many people in the U.S. (and, to some extent, the world) celebrate all things Irish.

Here's a challenge: Which one of these three photos of Boston on March 17 show people celebrating Evacuation Day, rather than St. Pat's?

Evacuation Day commemorates the first big win for the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Here's how that went down:

The American soldiers distracted the Brits' attention by lobbing shells at them. Of course, the Redcoats returned the favor and lobbed shells back. But while they were busy with that, another portion of the American army fortified the high points of Dorchester Heights with cannons aimed at the British army - and the British fleet.

Apparently, the British woke up one of those mornings long ago to realize that a bunch of big guns were pointing down at them - and they ended up taking off...

(I read that a lot of Irish-American people in this region can proudly boast that their ancestors helped beat back the British, that long-ago March. So they get to celebrate their Irish culture AND their ancestors' courage and military service.)

Here is another Evacuation Day - this one celebrated in NYC.